Tuft-tube frame for weaving



Dec, 16, 1924.

E.' rf.' HATHAWAY TUFT TUBE FRAME FOR WEAVING Fi ed June-17, 1922l Patented Dec. 16, 1924.

PATENT OFFICE.

UNITED STATES EDGAR F. HATHAWAY, 0F WELLESLEY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0l SHAWMUT ENGINEERING COMPANY, O'F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORWORATION 0F MASSACHUSETTS.

TUFT-TUBE FRAME FOR WEA'VING.

Application led .Tune 17, 1922.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR F. I-IATHAWAY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Wellesley, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tuft- Tube Frames for Weaving, of which the following is a specification.

lThi's invention relates to tube 'drames used in the weaving of pile fabrics for the purpose of inserting tufts of yarn between the warp threads and the weft as the weaving proceeds in order to form a pile similar to that formed in AXminster carpets or the like. The yarn elements forming the individual tufts are drawn through a series of narrow tubes mounted transversely on a carrier bar with their delivery ends properly spaced to pass between the warp threads for inserting the outer ends of the tufts into the fabric being woven. It is important that these tubes should be uniformly spaced while occupying the minimum of space from side to side and should be firmly secured while making replacement easy and accurate of accomplishment, hence a satisfactory and reliable means of attaching the tubes to the carrier bar is greatly desired.

The present improvement deals with the problem of detachably securing the tubes to the tube frame and firmly holding them in proper relationship, and with protecting the yarn tufts against scraping or chafing against the rear or intake end edges of the tubes.

One feature ofk this invention resides in the construction and arrangement by which a series of vtuft tubes secured to a common longitudinal carrier strip are detachably held to a carrier bar by retaining members such as screws that are themselves detachably but securely engaged with the back side of the hollow carrier bar, thereby affording a secure but reliable anchorage for the separate carrier strip and incidentally stiftening or making more rigid the carrier bar itself by a system of internal bracing.

Another feature resides in the construction and arrangement by which a detachable longitudinal yarn-protecting member is provided for fending off the yarn from the thin end edges of the individual tubes.

These and other features of this invention will be particularly described in the follow- Seral No. 569,150.

ing specification and will be defined in the claims hereto annexed.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated certain specific constructions and arrangements illustrating the principles of this invention, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of the carrier bar in horizontal position with a series of tuft tubes attached thereto.

Figure 2 is a transverse section thereof on plane 2 2 of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a rear end elevation on the sectional plane 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view showthe construction of the tube-attaching strip or member.

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view similar to figure 2 showing a modified form.

Figure 6 is a. similar transverse section showing another modified form.

In the practice of the invention according to the illustration of the drawings I employ a tubular metallic carrier bar which forms the backbone of the tube frame, but instead of attaching the individual tuft tubes directly to the bar I use a longitudinal tube attaching and supporting strip to which the individual tubes are transversely secured in parallel relation to one another in any suitable or desired manner and which, being itself secured to the carrier bar by detachable fastening mea-ns, constitute a means for removably securing a series of tubes to the carrier bar. rIhe detachable fastening or anchoring means pass through the tube-attaching strip and are anchored or held firmly to the back of thev carrierbar. Moreover the attaching strip itself affords a means of presenting or holding a protective ledge in position to guard the extreme rear ends of the tubes from chafing or catching the yarn as it is passing into the tubes.

In the form shown in Figures l to Ll, the hollow carrier bar 1, of metallic tubing is provided with aligned openings or apertures 2, and 3, penetrating its front and back sides respectively, the front apertures being formed to receive theI tapered heads of screws 4, and the back apertures being formed to receive tapered nuts 6, forced firmly therein and if preferred soldered therein so as to afford a firm anchorage to receive the outer threadedl ends of the fastening screws 4. The hollow bar l, is also formed with a shallow groove 5, extending longitudinally thereof quite near the upper edge of its front face for a purpose presently to be described.

The tuft tube-attaching and supporting strip may be of any appropriate construction, and the tubes may be secured to it in any suitable manner. In the form illustrated in Fig. 4, the attaching` and holding strip is constructed to detachably hold the individual tubes and comprises a longitudinal strip 7 provided with apertured or slotted outwardly turned upper and lower flanges 8, and 9, having aligned apertures or slots 10 arranged to snugly engage vand externally support the tuft tubesat different points, the size and shape of each rowv of apertures corresponding to the size of the cross section of the tuft tube at those points so as to permit insertion of the small ends of the tuft tubes successively through the upper and lower flangers 8 and 9. l y

I also provide a yarn-protecting member to prevent the vyarn rubbing against the rear ends of the tubes. This comprises a longitudinal strip 12 of thin metal or spring material which is formed with a longitudinal projecting rib portion 13, which forms a protective ledge overhanging the rear or intake ends of the tuft tubes 14, and which as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings has its upper edge engaged in the longitudinal groove 5 t0 retain it in place to accurately position and hold the tuft tubes against upward or endwise displacement. This yarn-protecting member underlies or underlaps the rear ends of the tuft tubes so that the attaching strip or member when in operative position with the tuft tubes inserted, acts to hold the yarnprotecting member detachably to the carrier bar while the yarn guard or protecting member itself may serve as a means of preventing e'ndwise displacement of thev tuft'tubes. As will be understood from considering Fig. 2 of the drawings, not only may the'yarnprotecting member be sprung out' of its locked engagement with the bar for separate removal, but it can be depressed or flattened to permit the removal of any individual tuft tube and the substitution of a new one. e. I

In the form shown in Fig. 5 the tubeattaching strip 20 is provided with an inte-k gralyarn-protecting` member 21, and instead of having its opposite edges bent up to form tube-holding flanges the lower` moiety of the strip 20 is bent outwardly and folded back tokform a front or forward portion 22, parallel with the back and having its upperedge port-ion slotted and bent backw'ar'dly to engage and support the tubes some distance nearer their rear or intake ends as shown at 23'. The front faces 22 are provided with screw aligned apertures 24, to give access to the fastening sc'rews4.

In the formillustrated in Fig. 6 the attaching member or strip 30, is krolled up along its upper edge to form a yarn-protecting ledge 31, while its lowenportion is bent outwardly at 32 and then forwardly at 33 and inward to form a flange 34 parallel with the flange 32 having perforations similar to those shown in Figure 4 for receiving and containing the individual tuft tubes 14.

The individual tuft tubes may be first secured to their supporting strip land these thereafter secured to the carrier bars by the fastening screws 4, the'tubes overlying the screw holes 2 not being inserted until after the attaching strip or member is fastened to the bar in the forms shown, or the tube attaching and yarn-protecting membersmay be first assembled on the carrier bar, and thereafter the individual tubes inserted in position as may best suit the conditions of the work.

lWhat I claim is:

1. In a tube frame for pile fabric'v weaving, the combination of a tubular carrier bar, a longitudinaltube holding strip secured to said carrier by detachable fastening means, said fastening means comprising transverse members penetrating the holding strip and the front of the carrier bar and `having their back ends detachably anchored' to the back wall of the carrier bar, substantially as described. e i v,

2. A tube frame embracing in its construc-v tion, a tubular carrier bar and aseries of transversely disposed parallel tuft tubes, a longitudinal tube carrying striprdetachably secured tothe front face of the carrier bar by transverse screws passing through the carrier bar and having anchorage connection with the rear wall of the *carrier bar, said holding strip forming a backing for the tuft tubes by which the tubes may be simule taneously removed from the carrier bar, substantially as described.

Attaching means for detachably fasten# ing a series of parallel tuft tubes inoperativev relationship on the hollow carrier bar of a tube'frame embracing in combination, a longitudinal tube supporting strip to which the tuft tubes are secured adapted-'torest against the front face of the carrier bar,"a series of anchorage members securedy inthe back wall of thecarrie bar and transverse fastening screws whoseheadsengage `apertures in'the tube-holding stripandj whose inner ends detachably interlock with said anchorage members," substantially as de'- scribed.

4. In a tube frame the combination of a longitudinal hollow carrier bar, a longitu-V dinal tube-supporting strip* adapted toflie against the fron-t walloflthe carrier bar, transverse fastening members having -r'er leasable headed engagementv with Vs'aifd' tu-ibeholding strip* and with the' rear yv'vall lof the carrier bar to detachably and firmly hold the strip against the iront wall, and a series of parallel transversely disposed tutt tubes secured to said strip and thereby detachably secured to the carrier bar, substantially described.

5. ln a tube trame tor tutt weaving the combination with a hollow longitudinal carrier bar, of a longitudinal tutt-tube holding member arranged on the front of said bar, a series of tutt` tubes secured in parallelism to and transversely or' said holding member, transversely extending detachable fastening devices for securing said holding member removably externally on said carrier bar, solid fastening members being provided with tapered heads at their opposite ends, one for engaging and holding the tube holding strip and the other for detachably anchoring them to the back wall of the hollow carrier bar, substantially as described.

6. A tube trame embracing in its construction a tubular metallic carrier bar, a tube carrying strip detachably secured to the front wall of the carrier bar to extend longitudinally thereof, a series of parallel transversely disposed tutt tubes carried by said. strip, and a yarn projecting member located so as to project outwardly from the bar sufficiently to deflect the yarn that is being fed into the tubes from contact with the end edges of the tube, substantially as described.

7. In a. tube iframe for tui't weaving, the combination of a longitudinal carrier bar, a separate longitudinal tube-carrying member detachably secured thereto, a series of parallel tutt tubes secured to said tube-carrying member, and a. separate yarn protecting strip detachably held in interlocked but detachable engagement with the carrier bar by means ot the detachable tube-carrying strip, substantially as described.

8. In a tube frame for tutt weaving, the combination oitI a longitudinal carrier bar, a series of parallel tutt tubes arranged transversely thereof and detachably secured thereto by a common tube-holding strip, and a yarn protecting member arranged to project outwardly from the carrier bar and extended between the tutt tubes and the exterior face ot the carrier bar in order to be detachably held on the carrier, substantially as descibed.

9. ln a tube frame for tutt weaving, the combination Vof a longitudinal carrier bar, a separate: longitudinal tube-holding strip detachably secured thereto and a longitudinal yarn-protecting member arranged to deflect the tube-entering yarn from the rear end edge of each tube and to engage the rear ends of the tubes to prevent accidental displacement ot the tubes endwise, subst-antially as described.

l0. In a tube frame for tutt weaving, the combination or' a longitudinal carrier bar having a horizontal groove, a tube carrying member secured thereto, tutt tubes secured to said carrying member, and a longitudinal strip arranged to engage a horizontal groove on the carrier bar and to project beneath the tutt tubes, substantially as described.

l1. In a tube frame for tutt weaving, the combination of a longitudinal carrier bar, and its transversely arranged tutt tubes, a tube-supporting member extending longitudinally of the bar and secured thereto, a longitudinal strip of spring material transversely bowed to form a protective ledge to deflect the yarn from the rear ends of the tubes and to sustain end thrust of the tubes and yieldable to permit withdrawal of the tubes, substantially as described.

ln witness whereof, l have subscribed the above specification.

EDGAR F. HATHAW'AY. 

